More than 800 people attend event offering medical, social services to homeless

More than 800 people attend event offering medical, social services to homeless

by
Matt Vande Bunte | The Grand Rapids Press

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 5:43 PM

Press Photo/Lance WynnPeople wait in a hallway for their turn to receive services offered Tuesday by Project Homeless Connect at Van Andel Arena. More than 800 people attended the event.

Press Photo/Lance WynnLoretta Fant, 29, of Grand Rapids, looks at her tooth after Dr. David Dalrymple extracted it during Project Homeless Connect at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday. At least three oral surgeons, eight dentists, and their assistants provided free dental care for homeless people during the event.

GRAND RAPIDS -- A few feet from a counter stocked with rubber gloves and hypodermic needles, David Dalrymple leaned over and took firm hold of Loretta Fant's decayed bicuspid. After wiggling back and forth, the tooth popped out.

Painful? Not for the moment.

The Grand Rapids mother of two did not get the housing voucher she sought Tuesday at Van Andel Arena. But she did get free dental care through Project Homeless Connect.

"I got something out of the deal," said Fant, 29, who lives with a friend. "It's numb. Anything that takes the pain away."

An estimated 820 people came to the third annual event by the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness, down from 1,015 last year. More than 50 social service groups set up shop inside the arena, and hundreds of volunteers helped homeless visitors get blood-pressure checks, mental health screens, foot care, legal guidance and other assistance.

Not available Tuesday were spots on a waiting list for housing vouchers, which last year attracted more than 500 applicants to the arena. That kept some people away, said Janay Brower, coalition coordinator.

"They closed the waiting list," she said. "We know (the lower turnout) is because of housing vouchers."

People experiencing a housing crisis who need assistance can go to The Salvation Army's Booth Family Services, 1215 E. Fulton St.

"We're shifting to prevention," Brower said. "Now when a person comes in, they have a whole assessment done related to their housing needs and a housing plan developed.

"The idea is, a person has a plan in place with a goal of housing, so it's not just shelter. People can get those services any time of the year."

Press Photo/Lance WynnHairstylist Erin Van Ham, 23, left, of Wyoming, cuts and styles the hair of Jason Abbring, 39, of Grand Rapids, during Project Homeless Connect event at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday. Abbring said he can't afford a haircut and wanted to get his hair cut for job interviews.

For Jason Abbring, the event was more about the simple pleasure of getting a haircut. A volunteer stylist from HairMasters of Kentwood trimmed 5 inches off his mane.

Abbring, 39, who got laid off from a maintenance gig in September, hopes it makes him more presentable for job interviews.

Waiting in a line that snaked through the arena lobby and outside along Fulton Street, Greg DeSatterlee said the early crowd seemed bigger than last year when he made his first visit. He came for a housing voucher.

"A lot of people are struggling. Guys who have been working 20 years are now out of work," said DeSatterlee, 42, who recycles wooden pallets for cash.

"It's a chance to help people get on their feet and live a normal life."

Standing aside a busy lunch line where visitors got a free plate of chicken, corn and potatoes donated by area businesses, volunteer Rock Dandeneau said the event gives homeless "a cafeteria of services to get them more self-sufficient."

At the very least, "they've got an opportunity to talk to somebody and get a hot meal for the day to keep them off the streets and out of the cold," he said.

Or, in the case of Loretta Fant and dozens of others who waited to get dental care in a makeshift clinic, the day numbed some of the hurt of being homeless.

"Those kind of teeth can abscess and get an infection," said Dalrymple, the surgeon, after removing Fant's tooth.

"This is almost all extractions we're doing here. We're trying to get people out of pain."